What Scientific Metals does

Scientific Metals is a family-owned and operated precious metals refining company headquartered in Woodside, New York, serving dental practices, oral surgeons, jewelers, dental labs, manufacturers, wholesalers, pawnshops, and precious metals dealers across North America. Its core service is dental scrap refining, executed through a five-step process — barcoded receipt, induction furnace melting, vacuum pin sampling, multi-technology assay (Fire Analysis, ICAP, AAS, XRF), and settlement — with four induction furnaces ranging from 1 oz to 1,000 oz capacity and capable of reaching temperatures above 3,000°F to melt platinum and palladium. The company emphasizes vertical integration, performing melting, incineration, and assay in-house at a single facility that customers can visit to observe processing.

The business operates on a transaction-fee revenue model, retaining roughly 10% of refined metal value (returning 90% to customers) without sales representatives, third-party commissions, or hidden accountability charges — a structure the company contrasts against competitors that customers report paying as little as 62% of value after fees. Settlement is flexible across check, bullion, casting gold, and wire transfer, and the company also sells gold, silver, platinum, and palladium bullion directly. GTM is primarily direct-to-customer via word-of-mouth, trade show presence, and earned media (Dentaltown and Profitable Dentist magazine covers), with channel reinforcement through an approved program with the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS) and a long-standing endorsement from the Seattle Study Club network spanning 250+ clubs and 7,000+ members. Customer testimonials repeatedly demonstrate 22%–64% higher settlements versus prior refiners, which is the central commercial proof point of the company's integrity-led positioning.

Name

Scientific Metals

Legal name

Scientific Metals

Website

https://scientificmetals.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Scientific Metals is a family-owned North American precious metals refiner specializing in dental scrap refining, with in-house melting, multi-technology assay, and bullion sales, serving dentists, oral surgeons, jewelers, and related SMBs via direct-to-customer shipping.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Precious Metals Refining

NAICS

Secondary Smelting, Refining, and Alloying of Nonferrous Metal (except Copper and Aluminum) (331492)

SIC

Secondary Smelting & Refining Of Nonferrous Metals (3341)

akta.pro primary industry

Metal Melting & Secondary Smelting/Refining (Recycled Feedstock Producers) (EUAIAJAJ)

akta.pro secondary industry

Precious Metals Assaying, Metallurgical Testing & Certification (IMAKAEAK)

Keywords

• Dental scrap refining
• Precious metals refining
• Assay laboratory services
• Gold bullion sales
• Jewelry scrap processing

Headquarters

HQ city

West Bloomfield

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Dental Scrap Refining: Scientific Metals processes dental scrap (crowns, bridges, PFMs, PFGs, inlays, casting sprues, buttons, grindings, floor sweeps) and returns a percentage of the refined metal value to customers. Settlement options include check, gold and silver bullion, casting gold, or wire and bank transfer.
2. Jewelry Scrap Refining: Processes karat gold, silver, and palladium scrap from the jewelry industry including polishing dust, grindings, and castings, returning a percentage of refined value to customers.
3. Gold and Silver Bullion Sales: Offers gold, silver, platinum, and palladium bullion for purchase. Bullion can also be used as partial or full payment on scrap refined with them.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Scientific Metals is a family-owned precious metals refining company that processes dental scrap (crowns, bridges, PFMs, grindings, sweeps) and jewelry scrap for jewelers, dentists, oral surgeons, dental labs, manufacturers, wholesalers, and pawnshops across North America. Core operations include melting via induction furnaces, vacuum pin sampling, multi-technology assay (Fire, ICAP, AAS, XRF), thermal reduction of sweeps, and bullion sales, with 90% of refined metal value returned to customers.

Product overview

Scientific Metals operates as a family-owned precious metals refining company offering a unified service platform centered on dental scrap refining with complementary melting, assay, and bullion offerings. The core product is Dental Scrap Refining, a 5-step process (receipt, melting, vacuum pin sampling, assay analysis, settlement) that processes dental materials including crowns, bridges, PFMs, grindings, and sweeps. Supporting services include Melting Services (using four induction furnaces for 1-1000 oz capacity), Assay Services (fire/chemical analysis, ICAP, AAS, XRF technologies), and Thermal Reduction/Sweeps for environmental processing of polishing dust and filters. The company also offers Gold and Silver Bullion products for purchase or as payment on refined scrap, and Shipping Supplies (scrap jars, FedEx labels) for customer convenience. All services operate under one roof in their New York facility with no sales representatives, emphasizing direct customer relationships and transparent settlements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Dental Scrap Refining
• Melting Services
• Assay Services
• Thermal Reduction / Sweeps Processing
• Gold, Silver, Platinum and Palladium Bullion
• Shipping Supplies and Pickup Service

Quantifiable outcome

• Customers receive 90% of refined metal value vs competitors returning 62% due to hidden fees (Dr. William Wong testimonial: 'I got back 90% of the value of the bar as opposed to 62% of the value of the bar with the first company')
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (AAOMS)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerScientific Metals has an official approved refining program for AAOMS members. AAOMS is a professional association representing oral and maxillofacial surgeons. Multiple testimonials from AAOMS members indicate high satisfaction with Scientific Metals' honest, fair, and reliable service. The program provides Scientific Metals access to AAOMS' network of oral surgery practices.
• Seattle Study ClubcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerSeattle Study Club is a network of dental study clubs with 250+ clubs and 7000+ members. Dr. Michael Cohen, Founder of Seattle Study Club, has endorsed Scientific Metals for over 5 years, stating 'Scientific Metals has proven itself to be a reputable and trustworthy company for our 250+ clubs and 7000 members.'

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Garfield Refining: Garfield Refining is a direct dental scrap refiner serving dentists and jewelers across North America, with comparable refining, assaying, and settlement services. Like Scientific Metals, it competes for the same dental practice customers and offers transparent payout models.
• Dillon Gage: Dillon Gage operates a dental and jewelry precious metals refining division that competes directly with Scientific Metals for dentist and jeweler scrap, and also sells bullion. Overlap in target customer (dental practices) and service line (refining + assay + bullion) makes it a close direct competitor.
• Republic Metals Corporation: Republic Metals is a North American precious metals refiner serving jewelers and dentists, with a refining-and-bullion model very similar to Scientific Metals. After a 2018 cyber theft and reorganization, it remains a competing refiner for similar customers.

Broad incumbents

• Heraeus Precious Metals: Heraeus is one of the world's largest precious metals refiners serving industrial, dental, and jewelry customers. While much broader and more industrial in focus, its precious metals refining division overlaps with Scientific Metals' core melt-and-assay capabilities.
• Metalor Technologies: Metalor is a global precious metals refiner with dental and jewelry refining capabilities, offering assay and refining at industrial scale. It competes with Scientific Metals for larger dental and jewelry accounts but operates with much broader geographic and vertical reach.
• Johnson Matthey: Johnson Matthey is a global specialty chemicals and precious metals group with refining, assaying, and fabrication services. While it serves a broader industrial base, its precious metals refining arm is comparable to Scientific Metals' melt-and-assay operations.
• Tanaka Kikinzoku Kogyo: Tanaka is a major Japanese precious metals refiner with global operations in gold, silver, platinum, and palladium refining. While geographically distant, its industrial-scale refining technology and multi-assay approach parallel Scientific Metals' vertically integrated methodology.
• MKS PAMP GROUP: MKS PAMP is a Swiss precious metals refiner and bullion producer serving financial, industrial, and jewelry markets. Comparable to Scientific Metals in assay technology, refining scale, and bullion sales, but operating globally at much greater scale.

Emerging players

• Elemental Research Laboratories: Elemental Research Laboratories is a Canadian dental precious metals refiner serving dentists with a transparent payout model similar to Scientific Metals. It is a smaller, more regionally focused direct competitor in the North American dental scrap market.

Regional players

• Mastermelt: Mastermelt is a UK-based precious metals refiner serving the jewelry and dental industries with induction furnace melting and assay services. It is comparable in technology stack and customer verticals to Scientific Metals, but is regionally focused on the UK and Europe.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/scientific-metals

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Scientific Metals